Cast of characters
This page is intended to give a brief introduction to some the main players in the ongoing drama. This should be a brief introduction for those not familiar with the names. 'FreeThoughtBlogs' For anyone who is not familiar with it, FreeThoughtBlogs, aka FtB, or FfTB (Free''from''ThoughtBlogs) is a blog network set up by PZ Myers and Ed Brayton. It is supposed to be a network of blogs enabling a wide ranging set of topical discussions focussed primarily, though not exclusively, around atheism and feminism, and allowing for a wide range of expression and thought -- hence, "FreeThought". In reality, FfTB is a network of narrowly focussed and very parochial blogs with an extremely US-centric point of view, and a very strict overarching ideological stance (defined, to a large extent, by PZ Myers). Most, though not all, of the individual blogs are hosted by extremely dogmatic, narrow minded, profoundly arrogant individuals, who, while claiming to hold University degrees and other academic accomplishments of some note, fail, on a daily basis, to actually act or write like people who hold University degrees and other academic accomplishments of some note. The most popular five or six blogs are hosted by the most ideologically bound, irrational, and profoundly hypocritical bloggers in the network. Those five or six blog hosts are, in some places, collectively referred to as the FC5, or the FC5 (6), or sometimes the FC5, 6, 7, because there is some flux in who is or is not still hosting their blog. The initials, FC, stand for Fainting Couch, which is representative of their hysterical reactions to very, very small slights made against them or to contrary opinions presented against their often ludicrous manufactroversies. Favoured FfTB Bloggers -- aka the FC(n), or FC5 (6, 7, etc.) PZ Myers : College professor in Minnesota, USA. By all reports, a nice guy in person. PZ Fucking Myers (aka: PeeZus; Lord Peezus; Bloviating Bullfrog of Bullshit, etc.) : Alter ego of PZ Myers when (mal)functioning as the host of the FfTB blog, Pharyngula. PZ Fucking Myers has ginormous ego-powered internet balls, and will frequently attack targets that the more timid PZ Myers would rather leave alone (see Gelato Guy). PeeZus instituted an all-inclusive blanket block of anyone who is known to post on the Slyme Pit forum. He also posts an occasional piece or comment in what he calls The Thunderdome, which he describes is an unmoderated section of Pharyngula, which, you guessed it, he moderates as he sees fit. Peezus is the definition of hyprocrisy. Ophelia Benson (aka: Delores Umbridge; Saint Feelya; Ophie, etc.) : Ophelia Benson is a major drama and manufactroversy producer on FfTB via her blog Butterflies and Wheels. Seems to have a persecution complex. Her primary, if unstated, editorial policy includes arbitrarily deleting posts with which she disagrees, and banning posters for sundry unstated supposed and sometimes wholly imaginary violations. Delores also bans almost all individuals known to post on the Slyme Pit forum ... just because, don'tcha know. Greta Christina (aka: ReGreta, etc.) : Feminist blogger and host of the FfTB blog Greta Christina's Blog, and occasional troll. Diagnosed with cancer in October 2012, which prompted her to request cash donations from her blog's commentators, which she then said she would use to pay her mortgage, and other non-health related expenses. Interestingly, by January 4, 2013, Christina was blogging about a pair of $259 Fluevog shoes which she had purchased. Stephanie Zvan : Host of the FfTB blog, Almost Diamonds (aka Almost Carbon). Does not like being called Stef, Steph, Stephie, or Stefunny, and especially not Vangina, InSvanity, or Svandenberg. Stefunny InSvanity is an outspoken and a deeply committed supporter/defender of Greg Laden, and will come raging to his online defense for the most outrageous, nonsensical Laden-presented, mis-statements and scientific nonsense (for example, his claim that men are just "testosterone damaged women", and his hate-filled threats to erstwhile fellow blogger Justin Griffith). Stefunny is one of the least rational of FfTB blog hosts, and is well known for commonly making completely groundless scientific (so-called) claims. : An amusing anagram for "Almost Diamonds" is "Dismal Mastodon". Jen McCreight (rhymes with wrong) : Host (on-again, off-again) of the FfTB blog, BlagHag, orchestrator of BoobQuake. Has had a long-running, on-and-off kerfluffle with Abbie Smith of ERV. Generally considered responsible for starting Atheism+ -- although there is an ongoing suspicion that PZ Myers was the actual gowned s/h/it behind the billowing curtains. :McCreight then flounced both Atheism+ and her own FfTB blog, BlagHag, then returned to BlagHag, then left again, then returned ... um, and then stated that she is fed up with atheists, skeptics, scientists, feminists, liberals, even though she describes herself as "liberal, geeky, nerdy, scientific, perverted feminist atheist" (wut?). And anyway, her boyfriend and her dad don't like it when anyone disagrees with her or is critical of her online blather. So, as a liberal, geeky, nerdy, scientific, perverted feminist atheist, she bows to agrees with their demands advice, and has left it all behind. Or not. After all, tomorrow's just another day. :ya, she's still around, as of October 10, 2013, reminding everyone "how elated I am to not be officially involved with the atheist movement anymore" and now self-describes as "a liberal, geeky, nerdy, scientific, perverted feminist atheist who recently escaped Indiana for Seattle". At any rate, McCreight has not been actively posting since Halloween 2013; however, on April 1, 2014, she posted a brief post stating that her mother had died (not an April Fool's joke), to which much sympathy was, quite rightly, posted in the comments thread. On April 6, she posted a eulogy to her mother. Jason Thibeault (aka Thimble-Dick, Tibideedido; Tibidoodah; ToiletBowl, etc.) : IT Nerd, and FtB's official me too guy, and host of the FfTB blog, LousyCanuck. Contributes almost no original thought. Wants to be Greg Laden. Truly believes that blog moderation equals free speech, and blog non-moderation equals censorship. Seriously; he does. Lives in Room 101. : Famous for his "time lines" Greg Laden : Profoundly and neurotically self-important blogger (Greg Laden's Blog...). Went to Harvard (as he will no doubt tell you, and tell you, and tell you). Was deputy me too guy to Tibidoodah, and angry staunch supporter of all things Zvan. Laden was kicked off FfTB blogs for threatening fellow FfTB blogger, Justin Griffith. Shortly after his removal from the network, he was toasted online, for being such a great guy, by fellow asylum-mates Zvan, ToiletBowl, and some others. There were rumours that Laden would be invited back to FfTB, but those rumours have proved to be untrue -- so far. Infamous for stating, in his role as a PhD, that men are just "testosterone damaged women". : Exact Laden quote from the panel "...ya know? The human brain is a female brain that has been damaged by testosterone at various stages of its life" Transcribed from Mykeru Media's "Creepy Clowns" on his YT video channel. http://youtu.be/b_7SRa_xQNQ Richard Carrier : While all of the FC(n) have massive egos, Carrier's is, without doubt, the most massive. Writing the small, introductory "About the Author" section of his blog, he says about himself: : "Richard Carrier is the renowned author of.... His avid fans span the world...." : It takes a really juvenile and enlarged prostate ego to pen such words about yourself, especially when they are simply not true. He has elsewhere described some of his work as a "real tour de force" (characteristically and technically misused). Carrier is yet another FfTB PhD who seems lacking in intellect and basic intelligence, with an almost nonexistent research and teaching record to boot. : The opening paragraph to Carrier's declaration of support for Atheism+ posted August 20, 2012, reads: : "There is a new atheism brewing, and it’s the rift we need, to cut free the dead weight so we can kick the C.H.U.D.’s back into the sewers and finally disown them, once and for all... I will provide any intellectual artillery they need to expand this cause and make it successful." : Atheism+ tried to sell itself as an inclusive movement, although it was seen as divisive by its critics, and Richard Carrier's blog post did nothing to improve that image. Jen McCreight denounced his piece on twitter 6 days after he posted it: "Finally had time 2 read Richard Carrier's #atheismplus piece. His language was unnecessarily harsh, divisive & ableist. Doesn't represent A+". : Of course, Jen herself no longer represents or supports the asylum that is the A+ forums, and Carrier is currently the only FfTB blogger still talking positively and supportively about atheismplus. : NOTE: Pharyngula still, as of July 23, 2015, sports the stylized A+ logo, but it links to The Out Campaign, which uses the same stylized letter A but without the additional plus sign, and which now goes nowhere; just sports a timeout notice. It most definitely has nought to do with the A+ forums. I guess Lord Peezus is a very lazy fat little shit. 'Favoured FfTB Commentariat' : Note: Some Pharyngula commenters place "OM" after their name. This is a stupid circle-jerk award -- the Order of Molly -- given for so-called outstanding commenting on the Pharyngula blog, and as such should be ignored as the meaningless gobbledeegook it is''.'' Anthony K (née Brownian) : One of the more established FfTB regulars. Respected by many of the FfTB commentariat -- a level of respect which can only be achieved by using the most big words to agree with the status quo. Unlike most of the FfTB commentariat, who like to spend most of their time with their heads in the sand, Anthony K has his head firmly implanted somewhere entirely different. Josh, Official SpokesGay : Pops up quite frequently in FfTB discussions with his patented Hose of Mighty Vitriol™. Seems permenantly on the edge of a mental breakdown. Also posts as Josh Slocum. Frequently cries tears of rage from the corners of his angry eyes. Nerd of Redhead : Claims to be a scientist. Claim is dubious. Rodney Nelson (née 'Tis Himself) : Posts long rambling diatribes, largely plagiarised. Sally Strange : FfTB regular. Possible Social Security fraud. julian : FfTB regular. Known for severe anger control issues, and for issuing several variations of death threats/wishes, including "die in a fire". Raging Bee : This appropriately named hard-on is often seen orbiting anything s/h/it perceives as a glowing white-hot light bulb while bumping head first into it from time to time. Raging Bee (the Bee stands for boner) represents the exact median level of intellect at FfTB. Not quite as insane as democommie, not quite as bizarre as SallyStrange, not quite as hostile as Anthony K, not quite as sciency-sounding as Heath, but much less intelligent than s/h/it thinks s/h/it is, Raging Bee (the Bee stands for boner - it's worth repeating) is convinced that if s/h/it sticks around long enough s/h/it will eventually be invited to one of the annual FfTB slumber parties. : The Bee appears to be just about the only regular FfTB commentariat member to occasionally comment on FfTB newcomer, Ally Fogg's, blog, Heteronormative Patriarchy for Men. Ogvorbis Confessed serial child rapist (seriously, look it up) and all-around creep. In an amazing example of doublethink, Ogvorbis' fellow FtFB commenters sympathize with him, and insist that he's the real victim here because..... reasons. 'Skepchick' Rebecca Watson (aka: Queen Bee, The Polymath) : CEO and principal mouth piece and proselytizer of Skepchick. Starred in ElevatorGate (2011) and GrotheGate (2012). : Watson's principle claim to fame is much like Paris Hilton's: Watson does very little actual meaningful feminist activism, research, or work, but she complains a hell of a lot, manufactures moral panics on a regular basis, and talks even more about herself while being jetted around the world, and wined and dined to a rather extravagant degree on, seemingly, a weekly basis, while disparaging, insulting, and dismissing people who have privilege, or who simply are not her. Yes, really. As the A+ movement has dwindled, Watson has been making YouTube videos asking for donations within increasing frequency and hysteria; most recently, she has claimed that men who don't listen to her are worse than the ones making rape threats. : A common opening remark at the various speeches and talks she delivers is "I got really drunk last night". She likes science, claims to know almost everything about almost anything, and once felt she had to remind the world that Gallileo was tortured and killed by the Church. : Possibly in an elevator. : Nah, the elevator bit is a joke. : Many of her statements are blatantly false-for example, Galileo actually died of heart issues-but reality has a well known misogynist bent. : Watson is considered by some observers within the skeptic community to be a general expert on everything. In 2013 she revolutionised the field of Evolutionary Psychology when she discovered it was all just a bunch of rape apologetics. Watson's discovery was later refuted by an actual Evolutionary Psychology psychologist. Nonetheless, PZ Fucking Myers, world reknowned for not being an Evolutionary Psychologist, stated he would write a rebuttal to the refutation at some unspecified time in the future and that it would be totally kick-ass. Surly Amy : Amy is one of the more active and outspoken Skepchicks. Her primary activity is to make (and market at an extravagant price) kindergarten-grade ceramic nuggets with supposedly pithy statements carved into the surface. She calls these ceramic nuggets Art, and compares her artistic activities to science, scientists, and the scientfic method. No, no one else understands what she means either. : Surly Amy is quite fragile, and finds herself in tears of rage when she reads Tee shirts that have supposedly pithy sayings printed on their surface that she disagrees with. Her ongoing goal is to ensure that the world of atheist and skeptic conferences no longer allow anyone to wear or in anyway display or even own such things as Tee shirts that have supposedly pithy sayings printed on their surface that she disagrees with. : Surly Amy is also campainging to ensure that no one in the world, besides herself, ever again makes or sells kindergarten-grade ceramic nuggets with supposedly pithy statements carved into the surface, nor should anyone ever again be allowed to wear or display kindergarten-grade ceramic nuggets with supposedly pithy statements carved into the surface that Surly Amy did not make. : Surly Amy sees herself as a social justice warrior, a "tough chick" who regularly "kicks ass", and a hero to mature, intelligent, adult womanhood and true feminism -- so long as it doesn't say mean things and make her cry. Elyse Anders Grimalkin : Hired as part of (Teen) Skepchick's plan to avoid being destroyed by the monster they helped create, Grim is the first in a planned series of token authors to cover all Skepchick's trans/gender/fluid/atypical bases. Hired in Dec 2013, has not been actively posting since Feb 2014. : Self-proclaimed "mofo" and "bad-ass". : 'CFI' Melody Hensley : Executive director for CFI-DC. Teamed up with Surly Amy, and threw gender-based insults at Sara Mayhew. Months later, Melody went on a mass-blocking campaign on Twitter of everyone who followed the '@ElevatorGATE' account in order to make it harder for them to read her tweets. In response to WoolyBumbleBee's video documenting this, she went on a flagging campaign to get it removed from YouTube. : She also invited Hugo Schwyzer, a male feminist who teaches history and gender studies at Pasadena City College, to attend Women in Secularism 2, in spite of his past behavior: he once attempted to murder his ex-girlfriend (and take his own life) and had sex with his female students, among other things. : More recently, Melody has claimed to have have gotten PTSD from Twitter, and equated it to the suffering of war veterans; despite this debilitating illness, she has bravely continued to post on Twitter several times a day. Even by A+ standards, Melody is a disgusting piece of shit. 'Slyme Pitters' (aka Pytbulls; Pyt Crew; Pytters) Abbie Smith : The owner of the ERV blog, where the original Slime Pit started (before it had to be shut down due to threats to its existence from people such as Greg Laden and Stephanie Zvan). Abbie receives a lot of ongoing vitriol and outright hatred (mainly from the FfTB and Skepchick blog bloggers and associated commentariat) for neither moderating nor censoring her blog, and for allowing people to speak their minds. Has also been known for her critical comments of Rebecca Watson, including Watson's handling of the Stef McGraw incident. : Oh, yeah, nearly forgot. On both/all sides of all this nonsense, with many bloggers and commentors making claims to science credentials, Abbie is one of the very few individuals who actually does real-world science. You can read about her actual, real-world, non-PeeZus stylee science at her ERV blog. Go, go, go, have a good read; you will be impressed. Franc Hoggle : One of the more infamous posters in the Slyme Pit, Franc originated the "cunt kick" comment which has been a staple of FfTB slander, misrepresentation, and distortion ever since. Was incorrectly "outed" by various FfTBers as "Victor Ivanoff". Has a blog at greylining.com. Scented Nectar : A long time commenter on various blogs, including Pharyngula, before "moving" to ERV. One of the earliest gender-traitors, Scented is disliked by many FfTB bloggers, especially those men who think they are more female then she is. Has a blog and a YouTube channel. Mykeru : Occasional 'pytter and frequent FfTB antagonist on twitter. Well known for his entertaining videos on his YouTube channel, MykeruMedia. Favourite of Ophelia Benson, who often concludes for no apparent reason that any perceived troll was "probably Mykeru". Notung : Owner of the Notung blog at the ScepticInk blog network. One of the few Pytbulls to be frequently found in the wild attempting to have rational discussions on FfTB. Given that the FfTB commentariat would not be caught dead at the Slyme Pit, Notung is one of the few remaining avenues of communication between the two camps - at least until he is banned from FfTB. Sacha : She's just a cunt. But we love her just the same. James Onen : Token diversity-spot filler. Bigger brain than most white folks. Baboons resent this. James lives in Uganda where people get murdered for being "other". Privileged cunt. Lsuoma : Creator and "owner" of the current Slyme Pit+. Has the head of Kim Jong-un and a really nice rack. Miscellaneous Skeptifem : Radfem and Franc Hoggle's "favourite loon". Unlike FfTB feminists, Skeptifem has a good grasp of the concept of consistency and applies it accordingly; irrationally, but accordingly. She is also an out-and-out misandrist (with a boyfriend, no less) and proselytizer of the well known, late, radical feminist, Andrea (it's not pornography if a woman wrote it) Dworkin. : Adam Lee : Once ran a respectable website devoted to issues relevant to the skeptic community called "Ebon Musings". Now fully immersed in the FTB feminist dogma, Adam is a strong supporter of harasment policies and heavy forum moderation. An empty shell of the skeptic he once was, Adam Lee has become a powerful tool for the A+ propaganda machine... nah, really just a tool.